Political strongmen are back in style. Not long ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the only leaders worthy of the label. Today, he has much more competition.
The trend can be seen in traditionally autocratic regimes. Chinese President Xi Jinping is arguably the country's most powerful leader since the death of Mao Zedong four decades ago.
But something similar can be seen in countries that had been touted as model young democracies. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had long been moving toward autocracy, has concentrated power further in the wake of last month's failed military coup. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has reversed a post-communist success story with a sharp turn toward illiberalism. Even in the Philippines, where the People Power Revolution overthrew Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, voters have just elected as their president Rodrigo Duterte, an avowed populist strongman and trigger-happy warrior against drug lords.